Muscular Dystrophies

Muscular dystrophies are a diverse group of inherited muscle disorders. Children or adolescents with muscular dystrophy will show progressive muscle degeneration with an associated loss of strength and function. Over recent decades, with advances in neuropathology and genetics, there has been a tremendous increase in the knowledge of this group of disorders. Muscular dystrophies can be grouped into six main categories comprising over 40 individual diseases caused by mutations in one or more genes. Key features help clinicians and therapists identify the early signs of muscular dystrophies. The ability to differentiate the main types of muscular dystrophies is helpful for the initiation of screening tests, diagnostic workup, and planning subspecialty referrals.

Most muscular dystrophies demonstrate a slow and insidious onset during childhood or adolescence. The primary ...